1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing agent for fire retardency and fire extinguishing purposes. The agent exhibits a high flame control ability, and can effectively extinguish and/or retard fires from hydrophobic and hydrophilic combustible liquids. The fire extinguishing agent of the present invention also possesses various characteristics in that it is a non-toxic material, will have little deterioration under prolonged storage, is effective at extinguishing fires of hydrophilic combustible liquids even when used in high dilution forms, and does not form a toxic material after use in fire fighting applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, foam type fire extinguishing agents have been used to extinguish fires of flammable liquids. These include hydrophilic combustible liquids such as alcohols, ketones, ethers, and the like. In addition, fire extinguishing agents can be used for combatting combustion of certain other materials such as gasoline and other fuel sources. The disadvantage of most fire extinguishers for such liquid fuel fires is that the fire antagonist is required in large volume for the purpose of extinguishing a fire. This is because the fire extinguishing agent must limit the access of oxygen to the fuel source, as by a foam barrier. Alternatively, the fire extinguishing agent must act to cool the material below the flash or combustion point.
This latter effect may require large quantities of material in order to reduce the temperature of the flammable material below the combustion point.
The disadvantage of these fire extinguishing agents is that they are comprised of or contain highly toxic materials. Many fires such as flammable fuel fires and the like should be contained very rapidly to avoid water-fuel mixture run-off from the fire site.
Prior fire extinguishing compounds such as AFFF are not readily useable for the reason that these fire extinguishing materials contain toxic or hazardous substances which should be prevented from runoff or from entering the water table. Toxics also can be volatilized in the initial application to a fire due to heat.
In the past, fire extinguishing agents also have been used with the decomposition composition products of natural proteins wherein the base material includes metal soaps and a dispersing agent. The disadvantage of these materials is that the chemicals contained within them are dangerous to humans and other life forms, and deterioration of the functionality of the product often occurs. This happens either through corrosion of the vessels containing the fire fighting material or deterioration of product through precipitation and separation during prolonged storage.
These foams may be alcohol resistant, but as such, the foam is hard and caky and does not spread readily over the entire burning area.
Other extinguishing agents possess no foaming ability. These are fire extinguishing agents in which metal soaps are solubilized and dispersed in synthetic surfactants. Although these materials are in a very high dilution such as the 3% to 5% dilution, large quantities of these agents are required to obtain a fire extinguishing result. In addition, these agents are not uniformly effective as against highly flammable material such as acetone.
Other fire extinguishing agents contain water and soluble polymers in addition to surface surfactant agents (including fluorinated aliphatic materials) and other foaming agents. These fire extinguishing agents form a gelatinous mat which inhibits the spreadability of the foam while performing its fire extinguishing function. Frequently the gelatinous material that is formed also contains within it fairly high concentrations of hazardous materials and therefore this is not a preferred fire extinguishing material. Furthermore, these materials may require specific and special storage conditions to avoid degradation during prolonged storage. These materials are also extremely expensive and must be handled with great care.
In all of these fire extinguishing materials, degradation during prolonged storage is a severe problem that limits the effectiveness of a material for fire retardency or fire extinguishing purposes.
Until the 1970's, the components of the present invention were not even known. The present invention contains a unique combination of chemicals within it which provides for excellent fire extinguishing properties and obtains an excellent result while avoiding release of toxic or hazardous chemicals into the environment.
In addition, present fire extinguishing materials tend to function by wetting down the flames in order to cool the flammable material to a point below its combustion temperature. This often requires the introduction of large quantities of water in addition to the foam, presenting an admixture type of situation wherein the fire extinguishing foam is admixed into the flammable materials in conjunction with a large quantity of water. Often after a fire is extinguished, the material left behind must be separated to prevent or contain runoff of toxic or hazardous materials. Separation of these various fractions is often times difficult. The result is if the fire has occurred on soil, all of the soil may be required to be disposed of at great cost in a hazardous waste landfill to avoid further contamination of the environment.
In addition, many of the foam fire extinguishers which are produced have a high tendency to flow away from a fire. This means a large quantity of foam or fire extinguishing material must be introduced to the fire site within the flammable material in order to adequately quench the fire and reduce the amount of burning material involved in the fire. As a result, there is a longer burn and a greater quantity of flammable material that burns. Also, a greater amount of foam or fire extinguishing material is consumed or applied to a fire in order to extinguish flame.
The present invention avoids all of these problems while presenting a fire extinguishing compound that can be stored in readily available containers. Prolonged storage of the fire extinguishing compound of this invention does not result in degradation or loss of effectiveness. In addition, the material can be packaged for consumer use because it is not comprised of any hazardous materials and can be used safely around children. The effectiveness of the invention also presents a distinct advantage over standard fire extinguishers for a variety of classes of fires, in that this material more readily controls flames in a fire for the purpose of containing burning. This invention also avoids the unnecessary addition of flame retardant or fire extinguishing agents to a quantity of burning material.